Written questions by Wilkinson.

Whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of closures of community pharmacies on the level of medication supplies.

Awaiting answer.

What estimate his Department has made of the number of NHS staff whose current salaries fall below the threshold required for indefinite leave to remain.

Awaiting answer.

What steps his Department is taking to prevent the closure of community pharmacies facing sustained financial pressures and medication supply issues.

Awaiting answer.

What consideration his department has given to reducing the 6-month grace period that utility companies have to undertake full repairs to paving in town centres.

Statutory guidance already makes clear that permanent reinstatements should be completed by utility companies as soon as reasonably practicable and that, where an interim reinstatement is used, it should normally be made permanent within six months.The De...

What steps his Department is taking to reduce delays for drivers whose licences require medical review by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has seen sustained growth in the volume and complexity of driving licence applications where a medical condition must be investigated before a licence can be issued. The length of time taken to deal with an a...

Whether her Department is considering exemptions for NHS workers who fall marginally below the salary threshold requirement for indefinite leave to remain.

The government recognises the valuable role of those who work in the NHS. The ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’ Command Paper set out that there should be a shorter pathway for those working in certain public service roles. The government’s proposals for w...

What estimate her Department has made of the number of NHS workers ineligible for indefinite leave to remain due to salary threshold changes introduced since 2023.

The government recognises the valuable role of those who work in the NHS. The ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’ Command Paper set out that there should be a shorter pathway for those working in certain public service roles. The government’s proposals for w...

Whether her department plans to make an assessment of the number of hours of education lost due to high temperatures in the week beginning 22nd June 2026.

The department does not specifically collect data on school days lost due to high temperatures.It is for individual settings and responsible bodies to determine their approach to closure based on their own risk assessment. Closures should be considered a ...

Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has a timeline for announcing the chosen model for Local Government Reorganisation in Gloucestershire.

The government remains committed to the indicative timetable published in July 2025. Proposals for Gloucestershire were received by 28 November 2025 and were subject to statutory consultation from 5 February 2026 to 26 March 2026. The Secretary of State i...

Whether her department will make an assessment of the economic impact of lost working hours due to disruption caused to parents by school closures during periods of extreme heat.

The department publishes fortnightly data on pupil attendance in schools but does not specifically collect data on school days lost due to high temperatures, or on which parents may be unable to work as a result. Decisions on full or partial school closur...

Whether her department is making plans to offer support for schools that require air conditioning or other cooling technologies for continued function in amber and red weather warnings.

The department takes periods of hot weather and heatwaves seriously and has published a climate risk assessment at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/impact-of-uk-climate-change-risk-on-the-delivery-of-education/summary-of-findings-in-relation-to...

Whether she has made an assessment of the relationship between alcohol consumption and incidents of anti-social behaviour on trains.

My Department published the Personal Safety on Public Transport survey in February 2026. This found that “People under the influence or drinking excessively” was the most common type of ASB experienced that made people feel less safe on their journey: 69%...

What steps her department is taking to reduce anti-social behaviour on trains related to excessive alcohol consumption.

My Department is committed to ensuring that the railway remains safe for passengers and staff including by tackling anti-social behaviour. The British Transport Police (BTP), as the dedicated police force for the railway, work closely with the rail indust...

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the level of the Adoption Support and Special Guardianship Support Fund on the amount of therapy available for adopted children.

The revised criteria for the adoption and special guardianship support fund (ASGSF) were introduced in April 2025 and were designed to ensure support for all those applying for ASGSF funding. An Equalities Impact Assessment was published in July 2025. Mor...

Whether he will make an assessment of the potential merits of amending the requirement to use an existing Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating to determine eligibility for insulation f

Support is available for households to install insulation, alongside measures such as heat pumps and solar PV, through the Warm Homes: Local Grant (WH:LG) and the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund (WH:SHF). These schemes take a whole‑house approach, with as...

Communities and Local Government, whether planning provisions allow local authorities to consider existing solar energy generation installations as a material consideration in planning decisions.

By law, planning applications must be determined in accordance with the development plan for the area, unless material considerations indicate otherwise. Local planning authorities may take into account the potential impact of development proposals on exi...

With reference to her Department's document entitled Consultation on the Introduction of Electric Vehicle Excise Duty (eVED), updated on 25 March 2026, whether she will make an assessment of the potential impact of

The Government remains firmly committed to the Electric Vehicle (EV) transition, and has carefully considered the potential impact of electric Vehicle Excise Duty (eVED) on consumer uptake of electric vehicles. The rate of eVED for EVs will be half of the...

What factors may be considered when assessing child maintenance claims made in cases where parents have a court-sealed 50/50 custody arrangement.

In the child maintenance system, shared care is reflected in the maintenance calculation. Where a child stays overnight with the paying parent for at least one night a week on average, the amount of maintenance due is reduced to reflect the care provided....

What steps his Department is taking to support employers to meet the needs of young people who require additional support in roles gained through the Youth Guarantee or Youth Jobs Grant.

The Department is committed to helping young people move into employment, education and training through the Youth Guarantee. The Youth Jobs Grant and Jobs Guarantee are central parts of the Youth Guarantee, supporting young people at different stages to ...

What assessment his department has made of how closely the online guidance about equal shared and day-to-day care aligns with the experiences of parents using the CMS system.

The Department’s online guidance is intended to provide accessible information for parents that reflects how the requirements of the Child Maintenance Calculation Regulations 2012 statutory framework is applied in practice, helping them to understand how ...